The Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)

Battalions of the Regular Army

1st Battalion
August 1914 : in Lahore. Part of 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division. Attached to 1st
(Peshawar) Division June-July 1915. Remained in India throughout
the war.

2nd BattalionAugust 1914 : in Dublin. Part of 13th Brigade in 5th
Division.Landed at Le Havre 16 August 1914.
14 January 1916 : transferred to 12th Brigade in 4th
Division.
10 February 1918 : transferred to 10th Brigade in same Division.

3rd (Reserve) Battalion
August 1914 : in Halifax. A depot/training unit, it remained in UK throughout
the war. Moved on mobilisation to Earsdon
and on in May 1915 to North Shields for
duty with Tyne Garrison.

Battalions of the Territorial Force

1/4th Battalion
August 1914 : in Halifax.
Part of 2nd West Riding Brigade, West Riding Division. Moved on mobilisation
to coastal defences near Hull and Grimsby. Moved on 5 November 1914 to
billets in Doncaster.
14 April 1915
: landed at Boulogne.
15 May 1915 : formation became 147th Brigade in 49th (West Riding) Division.

1/5th Battalion
August 1914 : in Halifax. Record same as 1/4th Bn.30 January 1918 : transferred to 186th Brigade in 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division. The Bn also absorbed the 2/5th and was renamed
the 5th Bn.

1/6th Battalion
August 1914 : in Skipton in Craven. Record same as 1/4th Bn.

1/7th Battalion
August 1914 : in Milnsbridge. Record same as 1/4th Bn.

2/4th Battalion
Formed at Halifax
in September 1914 as a home service ("second line") unit.
Moved to Derbyshire.
1 March 1915 : came under orders of 186th Brigade in 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division. Moved to Thoresby Park (Ollerton) in May
1915. Moved in October 1915 to Retford, November 1915 to Newcastle, January
1916 to Salisbury Plain, June 1916 Halesworth, October 1916 to Bedford.
Landed in France in January 1917.

2/5th Battalion
Formed at Halifax
in September 1914 as a home service ("second line") unit. Record same as 2/4th Bn.30
January 1918 : absorbed by 1/5th Bn.

2/6th Battalion
Formed at Skipton in Craven
in September 1914 as a home service ("second line") unit. Record same as 2/4th Bn.31
January 1918 : disbanded in France.

2/7th Battalion
Formed at Milnsbridge
in September 1914 as a home service ("second line") unit. Record same as 2/4th Bn.18 June 1918 : reduced to cadre strength. Cadre returned to England and was absorbed into
29th Bn, the Durham Light Infantry.

3/4th, 3/5th, 3/6th and 3/7th Battalions
Formed at home stations in March
1915 as depot/training ("third line") units.
8 April 1916 : became Reserve Bns. Moved to Clipstone Camp.1 September 1916: 4th absorbed 5th
and 6th absorbed 7th Bns. Moved
to Rugeley Camp in October 1917, on to Bromeswell (Woodbridge) in July
1918 and finally Southend in October 1918.

Battalions of the New Armies

8th (Service) Battalion
Formed at Halifax
in August 1914 as part of K1 and came under command of 34th Brigade in 11th
(Northern) Division. Moved to Belton Park (Grantham).
18 January 1915:
transferred to 32nd Brigade in same Division. Moved to Witley in April
1915.Sailed from Liverpool in July 1915 for Gallipoli, landing at Suvla
Bay 7 August 1915. Moved to France in July 1916.
13 February 1918 : disbanded in France.

9th (Service) Battalion
Formed at Halifax
in September 1914 as part of K2 and came under command of 52nd
Brigade in 17th
(Northern) Division. Moved to Wareham, on to Bovington in October
and Wimborne in November 1914. Moved to Hursley Park in June 1915.Landed
at Boulogne 15 July 1915.

10th (Service) Battalion
Formed at Halifax
in September 1914 as part of K3 and came under command of 69th
Brigade in 23rd
Division. Moved to Frensham but was at Aldershot in December
1914. Moved to Folkestone in February 1915 and on to Bramshott in May 1915.
Landed at Le Havre late August 1915.

11th (Reserve) Battalion
Formed in Halifax in November
1914 as Service Battalion of K4 and came under command of 89th Brigade, original
30th Division.
10 April 1915 : became a Reserve Battalion. Moved to Lichfield in July 1915
and went on to Brocton Camp (Cannock Chase) in November 1915.
1 September 1916 : absorbed into the Training Reserve Battalions of 3rd Reserve Brigade.

Other Battalions

12th (Labour) Battalion
Formed in Marton
Hall (Middlesbrough) in March 1916 and moved to France as Army Troops
to Third Army.
April 1917 : the battalion was transferred to the Labour Corps and became 24th and 25th Labour Companies.

Sgt Herbert Edward Thompson, aged 24, of the 1/4th Battalion was reported missing at Thiepval on 3 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. His body was subsequently found and he is now buried at Mill Road Cemetery, Thiepval. Image courtesy of the Imperial War Museum, with my thanks.

The badge of the West Riding Regiment as represented on a war grave. From the excellent website Leeds Daily Photo, with my thanks.

Links

John Donbavand, of the 2nd Battalion, killed in action at the age of
20 on 30 August 1918;Frank Burgoyne Baker, of the same unit, killed in
the same action; Thomas William Worster, a pre-war regular also with 2nd
Battalion, who landed in France with his battalion on 14 August 1914 but
who was taken as a POW just ten days later;
and William Metcalf, who was transferred to the Labour Corps from the Duke's.